Workshops
VIA Publishing have been organising practical lighting workshops for PLDA since 2001: Six internationally renowned professional lighting designers each head a workshop team and develop and realise a concept for a 1:1 architectural lighting project in four days. The design concepts are presented to a professional audience during a one-day conference at the end of the workshop week.
After the workshop week, the installations are handed over to the host town and remain in place for three to five weeks as “an exhibition of good lighting”. During this time, the town organises guided tours to view and explain the projects. These attract thousands of visitors.
In 2012 Alingsås/S will be celebrating the 13th anniversary of lighting workshops. The little Swedish town is well known in the lighting community, and welcomes up to 70,000 visitors to the “Lights in Alingsås” event each year.
In 2011 VIA Publishing organised the first workshop outside of Europe in Panaji, Goa. The participants were a mixture of Indian and international designers from countries as far away as Norway or the USA.
Find detailed reports on the workshops in our 
event archive.
Conventions
VIA Publishing is the organiser of the Professional Lighting Design Convention – PLDC.
The first convention took place in London/UK in 2007, welcoming almost 1000 attendees from around the world, who added to their knowledge and skills by attending their choice of papers from more than 60 presentations. PLDC also offered them the opportunity to network with peers, potential clients or business partners and discuss new products and developments with colleagues from the lighting industry.
The second PLDC, 2009 in Berlin, was even more successful and confirmed the importance of the event for the lighting community. PLDC 2011 in Madrid followed under the motivating motto “¡vamos!” and comprised a further significant step towards establishing recognition of the lighting design profession. Interested parties met in a forum which was organised by CELMA, ELC and PLDA and moderated by VIA, to share information on the state of the lighting market and the role of the lighting designer within that market, and to promote dialogue on a political level.
The story continues at PLDC 2013 in Copenhagen, which will be taking place from 30th October to 2nd November, 2013. With an expected 1300 international attendees, 70 papers plus other educational and networking events, PLDC counts as one of the biggest conventions of its kind worldwide. Visit the official website for regular updates and the countdown to Copenhagen 
www.pld-c.com.
'Professional Lighting Design' reports on all PLDC events. Find a report on PLDC 2007 in PLD 58, on PLDC 2009 in PLD 69, and on PLDC 2011 in PLD 80/81.
Seminars
Trade shows and fairs are one way for manufacturers to present their products to the industry. Alternatively, manufacturers can stage exclusive seminars for a selected audience, but on neutral ground.
VIA Publishing organises seminars in its headquarters in Gütersloh/D, in their facility in Alingsås/S, or in other suitable locations anywhere in the world, using its strong network and media platforms to promote and market the event and help generate an appropriate audience.
In 2012 VIA Publishing launched a new seminar format: Professional Lighting Design interactive – PLD-i. The interactive format involves a teaching team and small classes who together actively debate key topics, each person contributing to the learning process in their own interest as well as in the interest of others. The content (teaching roadmap) is coordinated up front in close collaboration with the teaching teams, thus also giving lighting designers and other educators the chance to enhance their teaching and leadership skills.
The lighting industry supports the PLD-i seminars by supplying product and know-how related to the latest technology. PLD-i also incorporates the possibility to experiment with the equipment provided, adding an attractive and experimental aspect to the overall learning experience.
Find more information on the event website.
Social Events
The lighting community is a very open, positive-minded group of international professionals. They are proud of their profession and enjoy celebrating what they do. In 2010 VIA Publishing organised the bi-annual "PLDA Celebration of Light" event during Light+Building and the Gala Dinner and PLD Recognition Awards show that concludes the Professional Lighting Design Convention.
These events are not to be missed!
Exhibitions
VIA Publishing is not only a publishing company and event divison but also organizer of exhibitions with photographs from light and art..
Installations
VIA Publishing organizes installation as in the old Bartelsgelände in 2005:
Journey into the past
This huge complex in the middle of Gütersloh/D has a quite lonely and abandoned feeling to it. It's not a feeling that is intimidating or creepy, rather one that pulls you in... Broken glass crackles under your feet, the roof of the old factory has partly caved in, nature has made its home there everywhere, creating new life in a dead area.
The old boiler room reminds us the most that people worked here more than 30 years ago. The calendar reads Monday 14th, and this is 1971...
More than 2000 inhabitants had the opportunity on the 2nd and 3rd of September to say their farewells to the old factory in the city centre, which will be ripped down early next year to make way for a new residential district.
Precisely placed accent lighting bring the former workspaces and machines to life for one last time. Spaces had to be defined and put into context. Former work areas were thus bathed in cold white light to them a cold and dead appearance, while areas where nature had created new light were highlighted with a warm white or subtly coloured light. The decay that has occurred over the years was portrayed in a way that gave visitors the feeling of a site that had reached the end of its life, as if the building was making its retreat to make way for new constructions.
Visitors were led through the area by the by the path lighting accompanying them during their journey into the past.
The visitors were not only able to experience the area for a last time, but also had the opportunity to experience the meaning of light as a medium of design and architecture.
